Paradise
by mousemaker2
Summary: Angelica is the newest human to join Jeb's community. She's never meet another teenager before until she meet Jamie. She has some things to get used to when living around a boy, a cute boy at that. Jamie/OC
1. Chapter 1

_Paradise_

I was dying and I knew it yet I wouldn't change the past if I could. I knew there were humans out here somewhere and I was going to find them or die trying. The heat was almost unbearable and my skin felt like it would melt if I didn't find any shade.

I stumbled and fell into the dirt. Dirt filled my mouth, making me cough weakly, trying to get rid of the grit that had been in my mouth for days. If I was going to die, I was going to die with a clean mouth.

I wasn't sure how long I laid there; I wasn't even sure if I was awake or unconscious. Time passed though because the sun was gone and tiny stars twinkled at me like there was something to be merry about.

I closed my eyes once more and my breathing deepened until I really was asleep.

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I felt something cool against my brow. My eyes scrunched up and I turned my head away from the unknown object even if it felt comforting. My hands flopped uselessly at my side for a moment before I remembered how to control my body.

I opened my eyes and stared up at a cave ceiling, I think. I wasn't sure about anything at the moment. I rolled my eyes around and then noticed people where standing around me. I gasped, choked on air and started to cough uncontrollably.

"Are you okay?" a thin man asked, stepping forward with a container, of hopefully water. I nodded and whipped the tears off of my cheeks. I struggled to sit up and finally accomplished it.

"How did you find us?" a tall man with blue eyes asked. I looked around me again and noticed another man that looked very similar to the one that had spoken to me. Twins.

"I followed a few humans here. I saw them exit a motel and decided to follow them. I lost them in the desert though," I explained. I swung my feet off the side of the cot that I was sitting on and stumbled to my feet.

"I told you someone was following us," one of the twins mumbled. I hurried and looked at everyone's eyes. All human. A miracle for any lonely human seeking refuge such as myself.

"Where am I anyway?" it was my turn to ask questions and I was going to get answers.

"You're in the middle of the desert in our personal paradise. This is our colony of humans living here, surviving," an older man with a beard said. I noticed he had a gun and he was in charge here in the caves.

Everyone told me their names and then they explained everything to me, about finding the caves, the raids that they went on, and how they survived.

The older man cleared his throat like he was preparing for a long speech. "And there are two souls that live here with us," Jeb said like it was no big deal. My mouth fell open and my air swooshed out.

"Are you crazy?!" I squeaked, stumbling back from the group like I could get soul germs from them if I stood too close. A few of them glared at me like I had personally offended them.

"The two girls are so sweet once you get to know them," Doc stated, trying to calm me down as I practically hyperventilated against the cave wall. I stopped breathing all together when he called them girls. I felt bile rise up my throat; he talks about them like they're human.

"I think she's going to be sick," Kyle exclaimed. I leaned over to the side and gagged until I finally choked up the water that I had drunk. I didn't even pause to see if I had to throw up anymore and took off down the dark corridor. I wasn't staying in the caves if souls would be living here also.

I didn't know where I was going so I constantly ran into the wall or stumbled along the uneven floor, hoping I'd get a good enough head start that they wouldn't catch me if they even bothered to come after me.

Light was finally up ahead and I thought I had made it out of the caves but really, I had just made it into a large room. People were here working and socializing with each other like a normal community would. They stared as I sprinted past them into a room that had _food._

My mouth fell open and I paused in my running to stare. They were cooking and eating together. I didn't stop even though my stomach begged and pleaded with me to stop just for a roll.

I went to turn around out of the room and BAM! I collided with someone else and went tumbling to the ground. I gasped and held my ribs, trying to get my breath back so I could start running again.

"Are you okay?" a sweet light voice asked, grabbing my free hand and tried to pull me up. I looked up and seen a small, blonde haired angel girl. I pushed myself off the ground and stood awkwardly in front of her.

"I'm fine. Could you tell me the way out of here please?" I said. I glanced around; the other people were starting to look at me suspiciously. I wanted out now.

"Oh, you're not staying? Everyone thought you'd want to stay, we even got you a room ready," she exclaimed, giving me a small smile. I struggled with myself now. I'd have a room and food if I stayed. I would be as safe as possible in a world like this. So what is souls lived here, maybe they weren't that bad.

"Well, I'm not sure yet if I'm going to stay," I mumbled, still battling myself. She moved slightly to the left and the light hit her in the eyes. Her eyes practically glowed. My jaw clenched automatically; the soul girl they had mentioned. She noticed my reaction and smiled sympathetically; she knew why I was tense.

My mind was going hundred miles an hour. On the one hand she was a soul yet on the other hand the humans trusted her and the other soul to live among them so they must be pleasant. Perhaps I was being too hasty; I should be to know her then judge her.

I made my body relax and I mustered the realest smile I could. "Could you please show me back to Jeb? I have to apologize to him," I said. She smiled and almost blinded me with how beautiful she was.

She led me back the way I had ran easily.

"I'm Wanda by the way," she stated, holding her hand out for me to shake. I hesitatingly shook it. It was soft even though I was sure she'd done some kind of work in the caves.

"I'm Angelica," I replied and took my hand out of hers. We walked silently the rest of the way back to where I woke up at. Everyone was still in there except there was one extra person who was holding a tray in their hands which I hoped was for me.

It was a teenage boy, probably around sixteen or seventeen with black hair that went to his chin. He was tan like most of the people that I had seen. He was tall but on the skinny side. I'd bet he was the only teenager in the caves besides myself now.

I blushed and ducked my head so he wouldn't be able to see my dirty face as good. This was the first boy I've ever meet and I wanted to make a good impression.

"There you are, we thought we'd have to go hunt you down," Jeb chuckled. I smiled weakly at him. "Jamie brought you some food. You kind of ran off before we could feed you," he teased.

Jamie, his name is Jamie! I blushed even harder and glanced up at him. He had a big smile on his face and handed me to tray. I reached out hesitantly and took it from him. I sat back down on the cot I was on earlier and slowly started to eat; I didn't want upset my stomach. I was well aware of everyone watching me.

"So, where are you from?" Melanie asked while I ripped into my roll. I swallowed before answering her.

"I was from Tennessee before we hit the road," I answered before starting on my bad of chips.

"We?" Jared stated.

"My great uncle, my second cousin, and I were hanging out together when we found out about the souls," I answered around my mouthful of chips. I seen Wanda shift uncomfortable out of the corner of my eye.

"And what happened to them?" Ian asked quietly. I shrugged.

"They went out to get food and never came back," I stated. A few of them nodded like they had gone through something similar.

"Well, if you're finished eating Melanie can take you to the underground spring. You look like you could use to a good clean up," Jeb exclaimed, winking at me. I looked down at myself. My light blue shirt was a light brown color now and my old jean shorts had dirt caked onto them. I blushed and glanced over at Jamie to see what he thought of my state of clothes.

"Come on," Melanie grabbed my hand and pulled me after her. I stumbled before regaining my footing and followed close behind her so I wouldn't get lost in the dark.

"So, are you Jamie's sister?" I asked, trying to act like the answer didn't matter that much.

"Yes, he's my little brother," her voice answered from the darkness. We didn't talk anymore as we walked. We walked back into the large room that I was in earlier and went into through a different opening. It took a few minutes before I heard running water up ahead. The room had two rivers in it and steam rose up into the air.

"In this room back here is where you bathe and even farther back in the bathroom. You'll need to wash your clothes when you bathe but we've got you soap and shampoo, it's by the edge of the pool," Melanie said.

I slowly went into the dark room and felt my way by to the bathroom. After I was done, I edged myself into the pool. I sighed in relief when I felt the cool water wash over my feet. I didn't bother with undressing and hopped right into the pool. Water splashed over the edge.

I cleaned myself the best that I could then I scrubbed my clothes the best I could in the dark. I was rinsing my hair yet again when I heard Melanie enter the room.

"Um, I know you're probably enjoying your bath but we've got people waiting out here," she exclaimed. I felt my face burn from embarrassment and quickly got out of the pool with my wet clothes on. Melanie blindly handed me dry clothes and left the room.

I quickly dressed and carried my wet clothes out of the room. There were two women waiting beside Melanie. One had peppery hair and the other had blond hair. I nodded to them as I passed and followed Mel back out of the washroom.

"You're going to be sharing a room with Lily, that blond woman. She's really nice, I'm sure the two of you will get along. You're lucky you even have a room. We recently made some more rooms; it was getting pretty crowd down here with all the new people showing up," Mel explained.

After we got out of the darkness again I walked beside her and looked around. There were many humans here from what I saw and they all seemed to pitch in with the work around here. Carrots were growing in the center of the large room while two men watered them. Everyone moved in and out of the different rooms so no one must get lost in these caves after a while, which is lucky for me.

"Try to remember with hallways to go down or you'll never find your room without help. Third on the left, eleventh door with the wood board for a door, got it?" she said. I nodded.

My room wasn't very big but that was fine with me since it was going to be two people living in here. There were two mattresses, one on the left, and one on the right. It was like the room was split down the middle. The covers on the right bed were unmade and there were combs and extra clothes beside it. On the left side of the room it was bare except for the mattress and the covers for it.

"Make yourself at home, on the left side of course. Someone will come and get you in a few minutes to show you the way to the kitchen," and Melanie left to let me get settled. I folded my damp clothes and put them at the head of the mattress. I sat down on the bed and laid back on it to relax for a moment.

This place was wonderful after the last six years. Here I am at sixteen and I finally had a place to call a home.

Someone was knocking on my door only after a few minutes. I got up, made sure my new red tank top was covering everything and that my new shorts weren't scrunched up. I pulled the door back and blushed.

Jamie was smiling at me on the other side. "Hi, are you ready?" he asked. My mouth went dry and it felt like my throat had closed up. I just nodded and followed him as he started down the cave hallway.

He swung his arms as he walked and kept grinning. I'd glance over at him every once in a while, blushing.

"So, don't you think this place is awesome? We've expanded the place since we keep running out of room since I arrived but it's roomier like this," Jamie said. He named off who's rooms were who's as we passed them until we were back in the large room. "And this way is the kitchen."

Around thirty people were gathered in the kitchen already. A few people stared when I passed them but most didn't seem interested that someone else had joined their community. Jamie helped me get my food and led me over to a table where is sister and Jared were already eating at.

Wanda, Ian, Kyle, Sunny (the other soul), and Lily joined us while we ate. Everyone laughed and joked around with each other. I stayed quiet and enjoyed the company that I had while I munched on my food.

This was the paradise for humans….and a few souls I suppose.


	2. Chapter 2

_Paradise_

I had spent a week in the caves so far and I was just starting to get used to my routine. Every morning I wake up at the crack of dawn and go to breakfast. I then go back to my room and wake up Lily. I'd then go into the main room and help with the crops until lunch time. After that I go into the south fields and help plant the corn and work the ground. I go to dinner after that take a bath then go to bed.

It may sound boring but I was really starting to enjoy it. I had made a few friends and that always makes it easier. Of course, Lily became my first friend since we shared a room and then, surprisingly, Sunny the Little Soul became my second friend when I helped her wash dishes once. I don't know how I disliked her in the beginning. I also befriended Doc when I had first started working the southern field.

My biggest problem though was Jamie. I didn't know how to act around him. As soon as he came within a ten foot radius I'd clam up and blush like crazy. Its funny how one boy can make me completely lose my nerve yet I've faced dozens of Seekers over the years and I didn't even like him!

"Angelica, can you pass me that pick?" Jamie asked, pointing to a pick that was leaning against the cave wall. I nodded and silently handed it to him. He smiled and walked off to help over by Wanda and Ian.

"So, what's up with you and Jamie?" Lily asked from beside me. I was so hot from working that I didn't even blush since my face was already flushed from the heat.

"Nothing. I'm just awkward around him because he's the first teenage boy I've ever meet," I explained and bent down to put the seed into the ground. Lily giggled.

"Wow, you are such a wallflower. I get it though, you just don't know how to act," Lily said. She got this far off look that she got when she thought of Wes. She never talked about him but Melanie told me about what had happened. He was shot by a Seeker through the head.

We continued to work until Jeb yelled for dinner. I put down the seed bag in relief and followed everyone else into the kitchen. I got my roll, a box of raisins, and two granola bars. I wasn't too hungry, just tired.

I went and sat by Sunny who was next to Kyle. Kyle had a huge portion of food while Sunny had about the same amount as me. Sunny and I quietly talked about what work we did today but stopped talking when Ian came over with Wanda. Instead of talk, we listened to the brothers tease and laugh at each other.

"I think tomorrow we're going to spend the morning in the game room. Are you up for a game of soccer, Angelica?" Kyle said, grinning at me. I shrugged. I had never really played soccer before. I suppose tomorrow will be a learning experience for me.

Jamie came bouncing over suddenly, making me tense and drop my head. "Hey Wanda, Jeb wants to know if you're up for a quick raid in a few days. He says were getting low, but I think he just wants more Debbie cakes to eat," he said, smiling at the small soul. She nodded and followed Jamie back to Jeb with Ian right behind her.

Lily and I went down to the washroom after dinner then we went to our room, dragging our feet.

I fell asleep as soon as my head in the pillow and I next thing I knew, I was wide awake, staring up at the ceiling. I quietly changed my clothes and left my room. Not that many people were in the kitchen yet so I took advantage of it and stretched out at the table I was sitting at.

"'Morning, Angelica," Doc yawned, sitting down across from me. I nodded at him and continued eating. "Are you excited about the soccer game today?" he asked.

"Not really. I don't know how to play," I replied. He stared at me for a moment before smiling.

"We'll teach you, it's pretty easy once you get the basics," Doc stated. I nodded and let him drill me about soccer. I was about bored stupid by the time people started to arrive for breakfast.

"Oops, sorry Doc, I've got to wake Lily," and I rushed out before he could explain the fouls to me. I sighed in relief and hurried to my room. Lily was eagle spread on her bed on her stomach.

"Lily, wake up. We've got to play soccer," I whispered into her ear. She mumbled something and rolled over onto her back and groggily opened her eyes. Lily grinned when she seen me hovering over her.

"I swear you are the best alarm clock ever. I don't know what I'd do without you," she yawned and got up. She didn't bother changing her clothes and followed me back to the kitchen. It was full now and everyone was talking excitedly about the game.

I just followed Doc and Lily's lead as she headed through the tunnels, knowing exactly where they we going. I could hear people's voices echoing around me, all of them gabbing excitedly.

I went into a long room with a low ceil. Everyone started to stretch and someone even brought the soccer ball out to practice some moves before they started. I stood awkwardly to the side, not sure what I was supposed to do. I glanced over at Melanie and tried to copy some of the things she was doing.

After I had stretched I felt all stringy and really loose. Everyone gathered around Jeb as he chose the team captains for this game. It was Ian's team vs. Kyle's team. I started in the back of the group as they called out players that they wanted for their team. What if I wasn't picked? They must know that I didn't know how to play.

"Angelica," Kyle stated, pointing at me. I blushed and jogged over to his side. I was the third to last getting picked but was just happy to be on a team. I looked at my other teammates. I had Melanie, Lily, Andy, Maggie, Kyle (duh), and Lacey on my team.

Kyle told me to stand back near our goal and help the goalie with the defense. Yeah, okay, I could do that, I'm only the smallest person out here playing!

I swallowed nervously as the game started. Jared quickly took the ball and headed down the field straight for me. I didn't know what to do so I stood there hoping he'd trip or get distracted by Mel or something. No luck though. He passed right by and scored on Lacey.

"What are you doing? You're supposed to stop him!" Lacey snapped, picking herself off the ground from where she had dove for the ball.

"I've never played before," I mumbled. She scoffed and went back to her position. I watched as Kyle and Melanie took the ball down the field towards Ian's goal. They were really good playing together. Mel kicked the ball, making it fly but Jamie jumped and head butted the ball.

Jamie dribbled down the field towards me, grinning as he came towards me without anyone else to help him score. I swallowed and made myself move towards him. I wouldn't let them score again because of me even if it is Jamie.

I'm not sure how I stopped him; it might have been that fact that I accidently tripped him while I tried to get the ball away from his feet or might have been that he sneezed right when he got to me. I don't know but as soon as I had the ball myself, I panicked. I stood there flapping my hands until Jamie was back on his feet going after me. I squeaked and kicked the ball away from me but it was too late. He slammed into before he could stop himself and we tumbled to the floor.

I heard a few people laugh but I clearly heard Melanie and Wanda's fretting. I stared up at the ceiling, not sure what I was supposed to do now that I was on the ground. Wasn't that a foul or something?

"Hey, that's a foul!" Kyle yelled from somewhere. I heard some mumbled agreements from a few people.

"Angelica, are you going to get up?" Jared asked, looming over me. I shrugged and stretched out like I was actually comfortable on the cold, hard cave floor. He rolled his eyes and gave me his hand to help me up.

Jamie was prancing around me, wringing his hands and apologizing over and over to me while I was trying to laugh it off and get as far away from him as possible. I felt all blushy and kind of shaken from my first physical contact in soccer and from a boy.

"Well, play on!" Jeb exclaimed. They started back up the game and my team went ahead immediately. I cheered with the rest of my team even though I didn't understand why they were so into this game.

Ian and Jared came charging at me, kicking the ball back and forth between the two of them. I readied myself the best that I could and tried to follow the ball. They scored of course.

The game ended finally. We had lost by two points and Kyle and Melanie were fighting for a rematch with the other team. I sighed in relief and sat down against the wall. I could feel a few bruises forming from Jamie falling on me and when Ian accidently kicked me in the shin.

I didn't find soccer very entertaining so I didn't bother with the rematches or the few fights that broke out. After everyone was finished playing, I went into the kitchen to knead some dough for the rolls later. Everything went back to normal which I was grateful for.

Two days after the soccer game Wanda, Melanie, Ian, and Jared left for a week long raid. I had never heard of this so I wished all of them luck before heading to the fields to do more work. With four people gone we'd have to work harder to pick up the slack, well, that's what I thought but everyone seemed pretty laid back and were still goofing off like normally.

I picked up a bucket of with already aching arms and started to sprinkle the water on the little sprouts that were starting to pop up in the soil like Sunny had showed me how to do just days before.

"Need some help?" I jumped and slopped some of the water out of the bucket. I blushed when I realized it was Jamie. He smiled and grabbed another bucket so he could help me. "You know, I think you and Wanda are the only two people here that actually work all day without taking a break," he said.

"Oh, um, I guess. Don't really notice," I exclaimed. We worked in silence until it was it was dinner time. He took my bucket from me and set it down before grabbing my wrist and pulling me out of the fields. I blushed and was hyper aware of how dirty and sweaty I was suddenly.

"Um, Jamie, what do you do when the others are gone?" I asked shyly as we were in line to get our food. Jamie smiled and handed me my soup and roll. I thanked him and followed him over to the table.

"I just hang out with other people. I miss them and worry but I know Wanda will take care of them," Jamie replied to my question. I nodded and slurped up the rest of my soap.

It was really easy to get caught up with what Jamie was saying because he never had a dull moment. I was still shy around him but I could tell I was poking my head out of my shell to listen to him.

I noticed that his hair was so long that he could probably put it in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. I wasn't sure if long hair bothered me or not so I guess my opinion didn't apply right now anyway. After I found out what I thought he look better like, I'd let him know.

"What are you staring at?" he asked, blowing some hair out of his face. I blushed and shrugged, tracing a pattern on the table thingy.

I saw Lily out of the corner of my eye leave the kitchen for our room. I suddenly noticed how tired I was and I had to stiffly a yawn, trying not to be rude while Jamie talked.

"Am I boring you? I shouldn't be doing all the talking, sorry," he said, his cheeks turning a light pink. I wanted to giggle but bit my tongue.

"You're not boring; I'm just tired from working in the fields all day. Now, what were you saying?" I responded quickly, hoping he wasn't embarrassed and hoping at I hadn't hurt his feelings.

"Never mind, can I walk you to your room?" Jamie asked, running a hand through his hair. I nodded and felt my face heat up. How sweet of him.

Jamie grabbed my wrist again and practically dragged me out of the kitchens. I stumbled before jogging to keep up with him. His legs were really long. He seemed to notice me struggling to keep up with him because he slowed down.

"You know, you're kind of short," he stated. I snorted and rolled my eyes.

"Well, I'm sorry I'm not 6'5. I guess my 5'6 isn't good enough for you," I teased. Was this flirting? It was kind of fun. We laughed and joked around until I was outside my wooden board that was supposed to be my door.

I looked up at him and blushed again. He was really cute and I didn't know what I was doing. Maybe he just wanted to be friends and that is fine with me but I was enjoying this….. girl power that I never knew I had.

"Can I hang out with you tomorrow?" I asked hesitantly. Jamie grinned and nodded. He let go of my wrist before going on down the hallway to his own room. I watched him enter his room just three rooms down from me. His room had the blue sheet for a door. I'd remember that.

I went inside my room plopped down on my bed before realizing I had forgotten to take a bath….I'd take one tomorrow before I went to breakfast.

Lily was already asleep on her mattress and was muttering something about getting a donut. I grinned and kicked off my shoes before lying back down to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

_Paradise_

Surprisingly, Jamie loped right over to me when I went into the kitchen for breakfast. He made it look like he did this every day and it was no big deal that he wanted to hang out with me. I wasn't sure what to do when he bounced over to me so we sat in silence for five minutes until Jamie broke the silence.

"Man, you sure do get up early. You and Freedom are probably the earliest risers I've ever seen in my life," Jamie exclaimed, grinning at me. I shyly smiled back and continued to eat my dry cereal (no milk of course).

I finished my food after Jamie even though he had more food than I did. He had just waited for me to finish, looking around and greeting people as they came in. Most of the people looked curiously at me since Jamie normally didn't socialize with me.

"So, um, I've got to go wake up Lily. You can come if you want," I said and got up from the table and handed Heidi my bowl. Jamie followed me and walked beside me with his arms swinging. It seemed like nothing got on his bad side even if his close friends where out risking themselves.

"You know, I bet your hair would look good down," Jamie stated, glancing over at me. I blushed and reached up to touch my dark brown hair that was in a ponytail.

"It might look good but it's easier to work without my hair getting into my eyes," I replied.

"Tell me about it. I'm just about ready to take a knife to my hair. I can't stand it anymore," he said, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

"I can help with that," I stated. I went into my room, shook Lily awake and made her get out of her bed. After Lily stumbled off to breakfast, I made Jamie sit down on my mattress. He looked kind of nervous and kept fidgeting.

"The answer is so simple I can't believe you haven't figured out. A hair tie," I giggled and pulled my extra one off my wrist. Jamie laughed and sighed in relief.

I gathered all of his hair into my hands and tied it at the base of his neck. His hair was softer than it looked (and it looked pretty soft to start with) and his neck was really tanned.

"Whoa, I can see now!" Jamie exclaimed, getting up from my bed. I giggled and followed him back out of my room. He grabbed my wrist like he did yesterday and pulled me along until we were in the kitchens. "I'm going to make you work with me in the kitchens today so I don't get lonely," he said.

We got right to work with kneading the dough and putting the soup together. Paige and Trudy were in there also and they really helped me out because I had no idea how to make the soup.

Jamie didn't leave me when lunch came, in fact, he didn't leave me the entire week. I had gotten used to him popping up during my breakfast and following me back to my room to help me wake up Lily. Lily thinks it's funny that Jamie is all I talk to now even though I used to get all shy around him. We'd make sure we'd get the same work so we wouldn't have to stop our conversations. I'd have to say that Lily and Jamie were my two closest friends by the end of the week.

"Alright, so if everything goes back to being all humans, what would you want your career to be?" I asked, stretching my legs out in front of me. The two of us were down by the rivers washing dishes.

"Um, I think I'd like to go into engineering. I think I'd like to make cars and trains and stuff. What about you?" Jamie said, grinning at me. His hair was pulled back in its ponytail and he seemed to be enjoying his new view on things. I liked it too; I could see his face easier.

"I want to be graphic designer," I stated.

"Cool. That sounds like hard work though," he said. I shrugged and continued to wash a plate. Jeb came in and looked over at us.

"What are you kids doing? Everyone went to bed hours ago," Jeb said. I laughed while Jamie hurried and gathered the dishes into our bucket. We hurried out of the river room and dropped off the dishes in the kitchen.

We kept talking the whole time. I walked right past my room and followed Jamie into his. He didn't seem surprised that I had followed him. I plopped down onto his mattress and wrapped his blanket around me and listened to him talk.

"Will you tell me about how you and Melanie got here?" I asked once he was done with his story. Jamie started off right away about how Melanie had met Jared then Mel got caught and that's how Wanda had come along. I listened to him talk for over an hour about Wanda and Mel. I was hugging his pillow, sitting at the head of his mattress with his blanket around my shoulders.

"What's going on in here?" Jamie and I both jumped and whipped around to see who was at the door. Jared and Melanie were standing there with desert dust covering them, looking at us curiously. Jamie jumped up and hugged his sister and Jared while I sat awkwardly on his mattress.

"What were you guys doing in here by yourselves?" Jared asked, crossing his arms, giving us a stern look. I blushed even though I was innocent, literally.

"Huh?" Jamie cocked his head to the side but then a moment later comprehension crossed his face. "Oh, no, we weren't doing anything like that. I was just telling her about Mel and Wanda............Where is Wanda?" Jamie said, looking past them into the hallway.

"She fell asleep on the drive back so Ian carried her back to their room. I'm sure she'll track you down tomorrow," Melanie chuckled. She looked past her little brother and grinned so big at me that I knew she wouldn't have cared if she had caught us doing it; it was Jared that seemed worried about Jamie hanging out with a girl his own age.

I stumbled to my feet and yawned. "Right, well, I'm going to sleep. Good to see you guys back. Talk to you tomorrow, Jamie," I said and hurried out of his room and went into my own. Lily was dead to the world, mumbling in her sleep with her pillow and covers thrown off her mattress.

I took off my shoes and fell onto my bed. I stared up at the ceiling while I listened to Lily breath. I sighed and rolled over to face the wall. I could just tell something was going on between Jamie and me. I'd find out what it was even if it took the rest of my life.

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The next morning was the first time that Lily had woked up before me. I was tired from staying up late with Jamie while he told me stories. My eyes felt heavy and my hair felt wild and untamed. Lily kept giggling when she looked at me; she said I looked like I had a hangover or something.

I didn't bother with going to breakfast and went straight to the river room. I hoped a bath would help wake me up before I had to work with dangerous tools. No one was in the bath since everyone that took baths in the morning was probably working already. After I was feeling refreshed and cleaner than I had woke up feeling, I headed up the kitchen to see if any food was left.

I spotted the returned raiders immediately and stopped walking. Ian and Jared were talking to Kyle about how their raid went while Melanie and Wanda played with Jamie's hair that was loose from his ponytail.

Jamie looked up almost as soon as I looked at him. He grinned and beckoned from me to come over to sit with him. I smiled tiredly and nervously headed over. Jared stopped talking and watched me take a seat next to Jamie.

"Wow, you look like you could have gotten more sleep," Jamie said, grinning at me. I self-consciously patted my wild hair, trying to tame it to lie flat. Wanda elbowed Jamie, muttering something about being polite.

"Well, I had to listen to this big mouth all night drone on about silly things. I didn't want to interrupt him; it is rude," I teased. Jamie's mouth fell open.

"You didn't want to listen? I thought you were interested?" he said. I grinned and rolled my eyes.

"Can't even take a joke," I giggled. Jamie puffed out his cheeks and blow out noisily, looking everywhere but at Melanie, Wanda, and me as we laughed at him.

Behind us I could hear Jared mumbling to his friends about how he found me in Jamie's room. I swear, you'd think he guys would find something else to obsess over. I almost wanted to hit him, almost. He was, of course, a lot bigger than me and could totally take me down in two seconds. That didn't give him the right to talk behind my back (literally) and not even believe that truth when it was given to him.

"All right you lollygags! Get to work, that corn won't water itself," Jeb said, walking past the kitchen. A few of the people grumbled but left to go work somewhere in the caves. I got up with Jamie right behind me and we headed for the fields in the main room.

"Why is your hair down?" I asked, watching as he fought with his hair. He sighed and pushed it out of his eyes.

"It fell out of my hair early this morning. Where can I get another one?" Jamie said. I shrugged.

We started to water the corn while we talked like we normally do. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Melanie and Wanda seemed to keep away from us on purpose even though they both hadn't seen Jamie in a week. On the other hand, Jared seemed to be hovering like he was waiting for me to attack Jamie. The guy has problems; that's what I think.

"Would you like to visit Doc with me after dinner today?" Jamie asked out of the blue.

"Um, I guess. What does Doc need?" I said, waving at Sunny as she walked past with Kyle as they went into the kitchen for their work. I glanced back at Jamie when he didn't answer.

"He-he needs company," he answered but he didn't sound very confident in his answer. I nodded while looking over at his sister to see her giggling with Wanda.

I watched Jamie to see if he acted weird again but nothing was out of the normal for him. He fought with his hair, talked to me and sometimes to the people around us, complained about how long we have to work and such. While I watched him though, I got distracted by his movements.

He seemed a natural that doing anything. Jamie could easily work a pick or uses a shovel while I struggled use them. He didn't seem to get as tired as me while we worked either. His limbs seemed to pull anyway he wanted. It wasn't fair.

Jamie was cute thought, no matter what he was doing. His hair was shiny (and soft) while it hung in his face, making shadows on his face. His face was perfect in my opinion; there wasn't a flaw on it even though he's spent years down here doing dangerous work. Jamie is the most beautiful, nicest, funniest person I've ever met.

"Hey, Angelica, are you ready for lunch?" Jamie asked, breaking me out of my brain haze.

"Already? Didn't we just start working?" I asked, putting down my tool. He laughed and led me back into the kitchen. We were one of the first ones there for the food. Kyle gave me mine with a pained look; he didn't get to eat until everyone else ate.

Our lunch didn't last very long so we headed back to the field. Melanie and Wanda joined us this time. I got to know the two women better in the short amount of time that we worked together. Soon it was dinner time.

I wasn't feeling very hungry so I gave Ian my food and listened as everyone talked. Jamie was kind of silent too. He seemed to be thinking about something very hard.

"Are you ready to visit Doc?" Jamie asked after he had finished eating. I nodded and stood up. He took my wrist like normally and pulled me after him. We walked silently for once through the hallways towards the hospital area.

"Jamie, does Doc really need company?" I asked hesitantly. He stopped walking, letting go of my wrist and we stopped under one of the beams of light so I could at least he the outline of him.

"No, I just wanted to talk to you without anyone hovering around," Jamie mumbled embarrassedly. I grinned even though I knew he couldn't see me clearly. "I wanted to make a few things clear between us. I've, er, never been around a girl my own age and it seems that you've never been around a teenage boy either so we're on the same page. Jared thinks that since we are teens and everything that we'll do something stupid. I just want you to know that my intentions are innocent enough at the moment," Jamie said in one breathe.

I giggled and clapped a hand over my mouth so it wouldn't echo down the hallway. Jamie chuckled nervously but waited for me to laugh myself out.

"What do you mean your intentions are innocent enough right now?" I asked breathlessly before my giggle fit.

"Oh, well, that is if, you know, we ever do get together and, um…..Never mind," Jamie stopped talking all together and all I could hear was his breathing. I giggled again.

"You are just too cute some times. Here you are thinking about my feelings on a matter that hasn't even come up yet," I exclaimed. I reached out blindly and made a grab for his hand. My fingers brushed against his arm. I grabbed his arm and felt my way down to his hand.

"Guys don't like getting called cute," he whispered in a breathy voice.

"They don't? How about adorable?" I asked, scrunching up my face so I could think of more words to describe Jamie.

"Nope"

"Oh, I'll work on that then. Anyway, you don't have to worry about being unclear. I'll let you know if I want something to change," I said. He had become quiet that I could barely tell that he was there.

"Okay and I'll let you know too," he stated. I grinned and led him back the way we had come. I enjoyed the warmth from his hand while I held it through the dark.

"That was totally awkward by the way," he mumbled. I laughed and he quickly joined me.

Wanda, Ian, Jared, and Melanie looked at us curiously when we ended up sitting next to them again in the kitchen to join in on their conversation this time. I reluctantly let go of his hand under the table. I smiled over at him and continued joking around with Sunny.

If I had looked at him for a second longer then I would have saw the look of disappointment flash across his face when I let go of his hand.


	4. Chapter 4

_Paradise_

Over the next few weeks, I started to notice a few changes in the people that were around me. Lily started trying to give me advice on boys which brought up Wes and painful memories for her. I kept telling her that I didn't need it because Jamie and I were only friends.

Next, Jared and Ian were watching Jamie and I like a hawk like an overprotective father might do for their daughter except Jamie wasn't a girl and neither of the men were fathers. It was very annoying. Jamie says that he's tried to explain that we were only friends but they didn't seem to get it.

Finally, Melanie and Wanda started acting funny a few days ago. Melanie walked around with a dazed look on her face while Wanda bounced around her in excitement about something. Normally, Melanie has to help Wanda with her work but suddenly it was the other way around. I know I am not the only one to notice it because I've seen Jared looking at her with a confused expression on his face and Jamie didn't get why his sister was in Lala Land half the time.

What on earth was happening?

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I was relaxing in my room for once, reading a book that Jamie had let me borrow. My feet were tangling off the end of my mattress since I kept moving around trying to get comfortable.

"Angelica, can I come in?" I heard Jamie ask from the other side of my wooden door. I called for him to come in and sat up.

Jamie had his hair tied back since he found himself another hair tie a week ago. He towered over me while I struggled to stand up. He gave me a goofy grin and grabbed my hand and pulled me out of my room.

"Where are we going?" I asked, almost running to keep up with him. Jamie didn't answer but looked back at me with a mysterious smile on his face. He didn't stop jogging until we made it to the kitchen.

Everyone in the caves was already there, gathered around Kyle. I noticed that he was holding some kind of ball. Lead settled in my stomach; oh, no, we're playing some kind of game.

"To the game room everyone! We need to get this game started!" Kyle said. He marched out of the room followed by everyone else except for a few stragglers. I sighed and grumpily followed Jamie.

"What are we playing this time?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"We're going to play a friendly game of volleyball," Jamie answered. I suppressed a groan and followed behind him anyway. When we got to the game room I sat down to the side so I could watch the game. Melanie, Wanda, and Sunny joined me also. Normally, Melanie would love to play any type of game so this new for me to see.

We watched everyone split up into teams then they started playing their "friendly" game of volleyball. I was glad that I had decided not to play this time. Kyle, Jared, and Ian seemed to be trying to slam the ball down each other's throats.

"When are you going to tell Jared?" I heard Wanda whisper to Mel. I tried to block out their conversation but they were right beside me.

"I'm not sure. I don't think he'll take it well," Melanie muttered. I started to hum loudly. I didn't want them to think I was eavesdropping on them.

"Angelica, it's okay. You don't have to be so polite," Melanie suddenly said. I turned to look at them and smiled impishly. I scooted closer to their little group and leaned back on my hands to make myself more comfortable.

"What do you think, Angelica? How should I tell him?" Mel asked me.

"About what?" I stated, confused.

"About me being pregnant," she whispered so no one could hear her. I gasped and sat up straight. I'm sure my eyes were as round as golf balls. Melanie placed a hand on her stomach and grinned at me.

"P-pregnant? You're going to have a baby," I said, my voice going higher than normal. Wanda put her little hand over my mouth until I calmed down slightly.

"Of course, you can't tell anyone until I give it the okay. We don't want Jared finding out early," Mel mumbled. I nodded.

We sat in silence while I silently went over what I had just found out. Melanie was pregnant with Jared's baby but we couldn't tell him. How confusing this all was.

"Melanie?" I said hesitantly. She looked up and smiled, letting me know to go ahead and ask my question. I swallowed nervously but went ahead anyway. "Where do babies come from?" I asked.

They both stared at me blankly like they were waiting for me to tell them that I was joking. Melanie was blushing, making her look like a tomato while Wanda was trying not to giggle.

"Are you serious?" Melanie asked after a few seconds of awkward silence. I blushed and nodded. "Shouldn't you know all this already though?" she continued.

"My mom never got the chance to tell me about anything. I was only ten years old when I left Tennessee. My great uncle and my second cousin were both guys so they wouldn't have told me even if I had asked them," I explained.

"Oh, no wonder. I didn't think of that," Wanda murmured. They both gave me a pity filled smile and patted my head like I was a little kid.

"Come on, time for a girl talk," Mel said, pulling me up after her. Wanda hurried over to the volleyball game to tell Ian that we were leaving and such. I followed behind Melanie wondering if I was finally going to find out what they were talking about.

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I sat at the kitchen table, twiddling my thumbs, blushing at anyone that I saw looking at me.

"Wow, you look so guilty, Angelica. What did you do?" Jamie teased, poking my side. I blushed and buried my face in my arms so I wouldn't have to look at anyone. Jamie kept poking my side, trying to get me to spill my guts to him. Personally, I don't think I could talk to anyone about our girl talk.

"Jamie, leave Angelica alone. She has a lot to think over now," I heard Mel say somewhere to my left. I blushed again but no one seen since I had my face hidden. Jamie grumbled but continued to eat his food and mine.

"Angelica, are you sick?" Doc asked. I hadn't heard him come over to our table. I looked up and shook my head no.

"I think I'm just going to go to bed," I muttered and hurried out of the kitchen. After I made sure no one was following me, I slowed down and took my time as I made my way to my room.

Now that I knew pretty much knew everything that my mother might have told me one day, I could see why it was kind of odd for me to be in Jamie's room. Maybe that's way Jared is so weird about the two of us hanging out. I blushed yet again and went into my room.

I found Lily sitting on her mattress with tears flowing freely down her face. When she saw me, she tried to wipe away her tears.

"Lily, are you okay?" I asked, sitting down beside her. She looked away from me until her face was dry.

"I was just thinking about Wes is all. He really was wonderful," Lily answered. Her voice was weak and I could tell that she was still close to tears.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you want me to leave you alone?" I said. She shook her head.

"No, you can stay. I'm just going to go to sleep," she mumbled before rolling over so her back so too me. I looked sadly at her back and crawled over to my own mattress. I fell asleep a few minutes after that but I knew Lily would be staying up late crying.

I woke up even earlier than normal. I dressed and slipped on my old sneakers. I made sure I was quiet as I walked through the hallways. No one was in the kitchen when I got there so I started getting the food together by myself for when everyone else got up.

"Angelica, do you ever sleep?" I jumped and turned around. Jamie had just walked in, rubbing his eyes then pulling his hair back in its hair tie. I chuckled nervously and handed him some food.

"Er, why are you awake?" I asked, sitting down across from him with my own food.

"I had a really weird dream," Jamie answered. He popped some of the dry cereal into his mouth. I nodded and looked down at the table. Darn Melanie for explaining things to me. Now I couldn't even look at Jamie without bushing like I used to.

"So, what was up with you yesterday?" he asked around his mouthful of food. I shrugged and stared at anything but him. "Alright, that's fine I guess if you don't want to talk about it," he said.

We finished eating after a few minutes. Jamie stared at me while I looked at anything but him.

"Angelica, you remember when we talked about how we'd let each other know if one of us liked the other? Well, um, I like you," Jamie said suddenly. I blushed and it felt like my cheeks, neck and ears were on fire.

I didn't know what to say. I did like Jamie but after hearing Melanie explain _everything _to me; I was a little scared of the male sex at the moment. And if I do say that I like him, does that mean I've got to kiss him or something?

"What are you two hoodlums doing in here this early?" Jeb asked, entering the kitchen and grabbing himself his breakfast. I was still blushing so it didn't make a different that he had caught us alone yet again. Jamie did blush though.

"We were just, um, talking," Jamie stated, glancing over me and my red face.

"Well, if you're done talking then you can go ahead and start working," Jeb said. We both hurried and left the kitchens and headed towards the southern field that we would be working in today. Once we got there though neither of us picked up a tool but just stared at each other.

"Jamie, I really don't know what to say. I mean, I think you're perfect but Melanie kind of scared me a little yesterday," I said, my blushing coming back full force.

"Melanie? What'd she say? I would have thought it would have be Jared to say something to you," he exclaimed. Jamie started to pace in front of me; I'm guessing to work off his nerves.

"Jared? What does he know about it?" I asked. Did Melanie tell him about our girl talk?

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Jamie said. I guess not.

"Um, I don't know. What are you talking about?" I replied, scrunching up my face as I tried to figure out what he was talking now.

"Hey guys! I didn't think you'd two be up this early!" Kyle said, coming in with Sunny by his side. I smiled at the small woman but ignored Kyle; I didn't want a guy listening in on Jamie and mine's conversation.

"I've got to wake up Lily," I mumbled, heading out of the field.

"I'll come with you," Jamie stated, following close behind me. I was hyperaware of him being this close to me in the dark as we walked. No one even batted an eye at us hanging out any more but I was surprised no one could tell that something was going.

I woke up Lily and ignored her blood shot eyes because I knew she wouldn't want to talk about it with a guy hovering in the background so she left for her food. I stood in my room, not sure if we should finish our conversation from before or just drop it.

"I'll back in a second. I've got to talk to Melanie now," he grumbled and turned to leave. I gasped and grabbed his arm.

"No!" I exclaimed, turning red at the thought of Jamie finding out that I had just learned what every twelve year old would have found out.

Luck was against me though because Melanie and Jared came out of their room farther down from us. Jared glared and stalked over to his sister, dragging me along since I was still hanging on to him.

"What did you tell her? She seems scared to death to even be around me," Jamie snapped at his sister. I tugged at his arm uselessly, trying to get him away from this soon to happen embarrassing conversation. Melanie stared me with wide eyes.

"You told him? You promised you wouldn't tell anyone until I gave the okay," she excused. I looked at her confused. I hadn't told anyone that she was pregnant but she must think that is what Jamie is talking about.

"I didn't tell him anything," I promised.

"What did you tell her?" Jared butted in. I clammed up. I wasn't going to say anything just incase I gave something away. I didn't have to give anything away because Melanie did it for me.

"That I'm pregnant. Now, Jamie what are you talking?" Mel said. She gasped and slapped a hand over her mouth. Her cover was blown.

"What?!" Jared and Jamie yelled.


	5. Chapter 5

_Paradise_

I watched Melanie and Jared talk by themselves over in the corner while I tried to keep Jamie under control. He was bouncing up and down on the spot and seemed to keep floating over to his sister to congratulate them yet again. I had to grab his hand and pull him away from them so they could talk privately.

"Can you believe it? I'm going to be an uncle. I'll be Uncle James!" he exclaimed, grinning at me. I nodded and glanced nervously over at the couple. Jared gave me an annoyed look that said he wanted quiet. I hurried and pulled Jamie out of Melanie and Jared's room.

I took him into my room and let him bounce around all he wanted. Lucky I already woke up Lily or she would have killed him for waking her up. After a few minutes of gushing about the baby and his sister, Jamie calmed down and sat on Lily's bed while I sat on mine.

"In all the excitement you never told me what Melanie said to you," he said. I blushed and cleared my throat nervously.

"Well, we talked mostly about, um, babies. It was nothing really interesting," I exclaimed.

"Babies? Yeah, I guess the subject could make someone jumpy like you were," Jamie muttered thoughtfully. I fidgeted nervously. We were so close to discussing why I hadn't told him that I liked him earlier.

"Jamie, earlier I never said how I felt about you, not really at least. I like you too, how could I not. I think you're an amazing person," I said hurriedly. I wanted him to know how I felt before he changed his mind about me.

"Really? So, does this mean you want to be my girlfriend? I'm not sure how this dating thing works but I'm guessing that right," Jamie exclaimed, smiling at me. I smiled back and reached over the space between us to pull him over towards me.

Jamie sat beside me with his long legs stretched out in front of him. He shyly reached out and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I blushed and leaned against him, smiling up at him. I breathed in his scent, calming my nerves about my new relationship with Jamie. I was suddenly aware of the fact the Jamie was running his fingers through my hair and twirling pieces of my hair around. I sighed happily and buried my face into his shoulder.

"Jamie, come on we need to-Oh!" Wanda had just entered my room and stopped short at the sight of us. I spotted Ian behind her, grinning at the two of us.

"What is it that we need to do, Wanda?" Jamie asked, unfazed by the fact that we had company now. Wanda was blushing now and I'm sure our faces matched.

"Jeb wants to know why no one is in the fields working and he wanted to know what happened to the two teenagers he sent to work earlier," Ian said, placing an arm around Wanda and pulling closer to him.

"Well, Angelica and mine's relationship distracted us and then Melanie told me and Jared that she was pregnant so that's why we're not working," Jamie explained. He pulled me closer to him and grinned at our two visitors.

Ian sputtered and his mouth fell open but Wanda didn't even seem surprised the Mel had told the two of them already, even if it was on accident. She grabbed Ian by his arm and tugged him out of the room. I'm guessing the two of them were going to visit Mel and Jared.

"You know, I don't think Melanie wants everyone to know right now," I stated, smiling at him. He shrugged and kissed my temple. I blushed but leaned father into him. I closed my eyes and rested against him until I felt sleep pushing me down.

I was surprised and kind of startled when I woke up. I was laying on my mattress, curled up in Jamie's chest, my hands clinging to his shirt. Jamie was still asleep, breathing deeply and slowly. I smiled and rubbed my eyes. I didn't move; I didn't want to bother him.

How long have we been asleep? I hope Jeb wasn't too upset about us skipping our work. I suppose Wanda and Ian had kept everyone from bothering us.

I loosened my grip on Jamie's shirt and laid my hand flat against his chest. I blushed and wanted to crawl into a hole when I noticed how nice his chest felt. I was just too shy and inexperienced when it came to boys, well when it came to Jamie at least.

I shyly let my fingers run over his chest and up his collarbone. Jamie shifted, making me stop before he settled down again. My fingers went over his neck then back down again. Jamie shivered suddenly and his eyes snapped open. I jumped and jerked my hand back.

"What were you doing? Whatever it was it felt nice," Jamie mumbled, rubbing his face before turning towards me with a huge grin on his face. My heart speed up and I could feel the butterflies in my stomach doing the conga. I automatically leaned close to him, bringing my face closer to his.

Jamie took a shaky breath and titled his head so he was angled towards me. My eyes had just fluttered closed when I felt Jamie pull back from me. My eyes opened when I didn't feel his lips on mine like I wanted.

"Well, excuse me for interrupting you two. I didn't know this is where you had made your love nest," Lily was standing there with hands on her hips, trying to look stern but she looked like she was trying not to laugh at us.

I pushed myself up and glared at her. "You're forgiven this time. What are you doing in here?" I said moodily. Lily couldn't help herself and giggled. For once I wasn't blushing because I was so disappointed in not having my first kiss with Jamie.

"I'm here to get you for lunch," she snickered, doubling over with laughter. I glanced over at Jamie to see if he was upset with my roommate but he was half smiling like he wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or pout.

I grabbed Jamie's hand and pulled him up and off the mattress. He followed behind me as I pushed past the still laughing Lily and headed off towards the kitchen. We were one of the lasts one to arrive for the food.

The few people that were there all looked up and gave us knowing looks before ducking there heads and continued to eat. I ignored them the best that I could and got my own food to eat. We sat down next to Kyle and Sunny even though they had already finished eating.

"Where have you two been?" Sunny asked. I noticed her and Kyle were holding hands under the table like Jamie and I were doing right now.

"I bet you two were making out in the corn field. That would be the best place for privacy while people are working," Kyle teased, nudging Jamie, giving him a wink. I blushed even though I knew that wasn't what we had been doing. I was starting to wish though.

I was starting to wonder what had happened to all my shyness in my head. Normally, I would blush at the thought of hugging Jamie or holding his hand like I was doing now. Now, I was fantasying about making out with him in a corn field.

"Jeb and Jared are about to go crazy. Jeb's upset because you two haven't gotten to work yet and Jared's been wanting to stop you guys from doing whatever it is that ya'll been doing," Kyle exclaimed, winking at me this time. I rolled my eyes and giggled. Of course those two would overreact.

I finished eating after Jamie (he practically inhaled his food) and we wandered out of the kitchen and towards the fields to see if there was anything we could be doing. Jamie kept swinging our hands while we walked like he was showing everyone that we were finally together. I giggled just about every time someone grinned at the two of us.

Jeb put us to work right away and we barely got to talk to each other since we were gasping for breath by the time we got a water break. I took little sips while Jamie guzzled his down.

"Jeez, you're going to drown yourself, honey," I exclaimed, pulling the bottle away from his lips. Jamie grinned at me before he continued to guzzle the water again. I sighed and finished my water before getting back to work.

"Glad to see the two of you out and about," Trudy stated, walking past us. Jamie laughed while I giggled with a nice blush on my face.

The two of us seemed to work the hardest out of everyone since we had to make up time from this morning. I felt dead on my feet by the time we got to leave for dinner. I wiped the sweat of my face on my old shirt and pushed the few stray pieces of hair out of my face.

Jamie took my hand again, making my stomach do flips, and led the way into the kitchen. He left me at the table and came back with food for the both of us. We sat beside each other and held hands under the table while our friends joined us. Melanie and Jared were the last to come in the kitchen.

Jared looked like he could do with some color in his face but Melanie looked, well, like she was glowing. She looked so happy and was just smiling at everyone. I smiled back at her. She eyed Jamie then looked back at me with a knowing grin on her face.

Jared didn't talk much but everyone else talked excitedly around us. The word had gotten out that Melanie was pregnant and I could just feel the excitement buzzing around in the caves. People would come over and clap Jared on the back and gently pat Mel's stomach before going back to their food. After we were all done eating we sat around and joked. Ian actually got Jared to laugh a few times.

Jamie would randomly bring our hands up from under the table and kiss the back of my hand. Every time he kissed my hand, I'd scoot closer to him until I was leaning on him with my head on his shoulder and my arm around his waist. I was so comfortable that my eyes started to droop and I heard myself yawn a few times.

"Are you ready to go to sleep?" Jamie murmured to me. I nodded and lifted my head off his shoulder and got up. I waved night to everyone that were still giggling from Jeb's joke and stumbled after Jamie as he led me out of the kitchen. He held my hand gently and pulled me up so I was walking beside him.

We walked quietly through the cave halls, not talking since some people had already went to bed. I kept glancing up at him and smiled sweetly when he caught me looking at him.

When we got to my room door we both stopped walking but I didn't make a move to go inside. I think we were going to kiss; I wanted to kiss Jamie. He completely faced me and cleared his throat nervously. I leaned up on my tippy-toes and placed my hands on his chest to keep my balance. Jamie closed in on the last few inches between our lips and softly put pressure on my lips. I took a shaky breath as he pulled away and relished in the tingling that went from my lips all the way to my toes.

"Goodnight," Jamie breathed out and leaned back down and kissed my cheek. I smiled goofily and stood in front of my room as he went down to his room. I stumbled into my room after Jamie waved at me before going into his room.

Lily was still in the kitchen with everyone else so I had a few minutes to try to pull myself together before she got here. I grinned stupidly as I took off my sneakers and lay down on my mattress. I felt wide awake now.

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I woke up even earlier then normal hurried and dressed. I practically skipped to the kitchen and helped Sharon get the breakfast ready.

"You and my cousin, huh? I'm happy for you; you're good for Jamie," Sharon exclaimed. I blushed and mumbled thanks.

When I tried to eat I couldn't take more than two bites because my stomach was doing flip-flops. I ditched my food and half ran back to my room. I pounced on Lily to wake her up and giggled when she tried to beat me to death with her pillow.

"Just because you can't sleep doesn't mean I have to. Why don't you go wake up your lover boy?" Lily grumbled and hid her head under the pillow. I laughed and decided to take her advice.

I went down to Jamie's room and peeked inside. Jamie was curled up on his side, his long hair covering most of his face that I wondered if he had problems breathing when he slept. I covered my mouth with my hand so my breathing and my giggles wouldn't wake him.

I silently walked over to his bed and kneeled beside his head. I pushed his hair out of his face and leaned down and kissed his cheek. Jamie stirred and groggily opened his eyes. When he saw me smiling down at him his face broke into a huge grin.

"I like waking up like this," Jamie muttered, sitting up and running a hand through his hair and yawned. I grinned and crossed my legs and made myself more comfortable on his mattress. "What time do you think it is?" he asked.

"Early," I stated, smiling at him cheekily.

Jamie sighed and lay back down on his back. He patted the spot right next to him and wiggled his eyebrows at me. I laughed and lay down beside him. I wrapped an arm around his waist and put my head on his chest. I felt his fingers tread through my hair, making me sleepy almost at once. I sighed happily and tightened my hold on him.

"I still don't see how you can get up this early. You put everyone to shame here," Jamie teased. I chuckled and let my eyes slid close.

"You're making me sleepy, Jamie," I said but it was kind of muffled. Jamie didn't reply but continued to stroke my hair.

"You need more sleep than you get," he mumbled after a while. I sighed but didn't get to argue back because I fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

_Paradise_

I nervously waited at the entrance of the caves next to Jamie. He held my hand and had an excited grin on his face. He was happy to be getting out of the caves. This was going to be my first raid and I was unsure on how I would do being out in the open.

"Alright, let's start walking," Ian stated, getting up from his crouch. I got to my feet and tightened my grip on Jamie's hand. He smiled at me and kissed the top of my head before pulling me out of the shelter of the caves.

"You two are just so cute," Wanda sighed as she walked past us to walk with Ian. I giggled and nudged Jamie, wiggling my eyebrows. Jamie snorted and covered his mouth with his free hand.

Ian and Wanda walked in front of us while Jeb walked behind us, whistling cheerfully. Melanie couldn't go on raids anymore since she was four months pregnant now and had to pee every few minutes and had the weirdest cravings. Jared as staying with her, trying to keep her happy while we were gone.

"I don't see why you're so wound up about the raid. There not nearly as exciting as they used to be now that we've got Wanda with us," Jamie stated. I shrugged and smiled at Wanda when she looked back when he said her name.

"First time being out of the caves in months and last time I was out here I almost died," I said, half smiling up at him.

We walked for over an hour and who knows how many miles we went. Ian finally told to stop and he walked into the darkness. A roaring sound came suddenly, making me jump and half pull Jamie to the ground. Ian backed a car up until it was next to us and waited for us to get in. Wanda jumped in to the front.

"Ma'am," Jamie said, opening the door for me and tipping his imaginary hat at me. I laughed and got in, scooting over all the way for him to get in and squish Jeb also. Jamie got stuck in the middle but didn't seem to mind being squashed by two dirty, sweaty people.

Jamie faked a yawn and stretched and placed his arm around me. I tried to keep myself from giggling like a love struck fool and kept a straight face….for about three seconds before I busted out laughing at his silly flirting.

"Kids," I heard Jeb mutter but he was grinning too so I didn't feel too silly at the moment.

"Jeez, Jamie, I swear you're the only one that can get her to giggle so much," Ian exclaimed from the driver's seat. I covered my mouth, trying not to prove his point but I snorted and ducked my head in Jamie's shoulder.

Once we got close the road, Ian and Wanda switched seats and Jeb unhooked the tarp. I sobered up quickly as we pulled onto the road. Wanda drove carefully and made sure to follow all the laws of the road. I leaned closer to Jamie when I saw the first car approach us.

"Relax, Angelica, Wanda knows what she's doing," Jeb said cheerfully, leaning his head back against the headrest. I gave him a weak smile but still hung onto Jamie tightly (not that he minded).

Even though it was dark out it wasn't late really. The souls were walking happily down the pavement, talking with their partners or friends as they headed home or went towards a restaurant.

I waited for the hate to fill me like it used to when I used to travel by myself or with my family. Nothing came. The souls didn't deserve hate. After I had spent months with Wanda and Sunny, I knew how kind hearted they were and that they didn't realize the grief they had caused.

"We'll hit a few stores first then head to a motel for the night. We can't be out to late or someone might notice us," Ian said, watching a few souls in children bodies play tag. Wanda drove the van to a grocery store and parked in the far corner that was darker than the rest of the parking lot.

I stayed huddled against Jamie as we waited for Wanda to come back. I could see Ian fidget anxiously in his front seat; he probably didn't like letting Wanda go in there by herself even though she was completely safe.

"What are the sleeping enragements for tonight?" Jeb asked easily. Apparently he wasn't worried in the slightest about being in the "enemy territory".

"Wanda can book us two rooms or we can get a family room where there are two beds. One us will have to sleep in the floor or in the van," Ian replied. I froze and glanced up at Jamie. He was looking down at me with a worried look on his face.

"Won't two of us have to sleep in the floor?" Jamie asked, pulling me closer into his side.

"Well, I guess if Angelica doesn't want you sleeping in the bed with her," Jeb said, clearly amused about his question. I blushed and stared out the back window, embarrassed by the situation.

Wanda came walking out of the store then so I didn't answer the silent question that hung in the air. She opened the back doors, handed us the food and shower supplies and clambered back into the driver's seat.

We went to two more grocery stores before Ian decided that we needed to get some sleep. I was already half asleep by the time Wanda pulled into a motel parking lot. We waited a few minutes before she came back with a key in hand. We followed her to the room that was close to where we had parked and hurried inside just incase someone was curious about us.

This was the first time I had been a motel in my life. There was a queen sized bed to my right that looked heavenly. The walls were painted a creamy color and the rest of the room was decorated to match. A door led to the bathroom that jutted out to create a sort of barrier with the other bed on the other side. Two TVs were set in front of each bed.

"We call this bed!" Wanda exclaimed and jumped onto the first bed. I sighed and rubbed my eyes. Ian gave me a half grin and sat down on his bed for the night.

"I think I'm going to sleep in the van for tonight but I expect a bed next time," Jeb said. He winked at Jamie and left the motel room. I blushed and hurried off into the bathroom to get away from Ian's looks.

I locked the door and stripped out of my clothes. I turned on the shower and waited for the hot water to come out. I shivered in delight as the hot water ran over me when I stepped in. This was my first shower in a long time. I stayed in until the water started to turn cold.

I jumped out, dried myself off with a fluffy white towel and pulled back on my worn out clothes. I looked at myself in the steamed up mirror. My hair was starting to curl from where I had gotten it wet and I knew if I didn't comb it it would be curly for the next few days. To bad I didn't have a comb with me.

I exited the bathroom and went to the second bed. Jamie was lying on his stomach, flipping through the channels with an annoyed look on his face. I paused for a second before flopping down beside him. He glanced over at me, grinned, and then continued to turn the channels.

"Anything good on?" I asked, leaning my head on my hand, staring blankly at the TV. Jamie mumbled a no and turned off the TV, sighing. We stared at each other for a moment, each of our faces heating up.

Of course, I've lay on Jamie's mattress with him back in the caves or take naps with him but this was a little different. We were in a real bed, going to sleep beside each other like a husband and wife would do.

My face heated up even more. Husband and wife? Where had that come from? We hadn't even told each other that we loved them. I knew I loved Jamie though. He was perfect and wonderful and thoughtful and…I could go on for a while.

"Um, what side of the bed do you want?" Jamie asked embarrassed.

"I'll just take this side," I muttered and crawled up to the pillow on the right side. I pulled the covers back and slid underneath. Jamie followed my led and made himself comfortable.

I lay down and faced him as he did the same. I smiled nervously at him and buried my face into my pillow. This bed was so comfortable that I was surprised that I didn't fall asleep immediately. Instead, I watched Jamie as he slowly relaxed into the bed until he was asleep.

I moved closer by a few inches towards him. Even though I was nervous about being in a bed with him doesn't mean I didn't want to be close to him. Jamie didn't move at all until I reached out hesitantly and touched his arm. His eyes barely slid open. He opened his arms wide open for me and I snuggled into his chest and rested my head in the crook of his neck.

I sighed contently and finally let my eyes close. Jamie kissed the top of my head. I heard his breathing deepen almost immediately. I fell asleep finally.

I woke up first like always in the morning. I'd bet the sun wasn't even up yet. I stifled a yawn and pulled back a little from Jamie to look around the room. Nothing had changed from the night before except that the covers were messy now.

"Angelica, why do you have to wake up so early?" Jamie grumbled suddenly. I jumped and looked back to him. His eyes were still heavy with sleep and his hair was a little tangled.

"I'm sorry; did I wake you?" I asked, reaching up and stroking his jaw. He grinned and snuggled down into his pillow while keeping his eyes on me.

"I don't know. I just woke. What time do you think we'll have to leave?" he said, pulling me back to him. I smiled and kissed his forehead.

"I'm not sure, maybe in an hour or two since the sun isn't even up yet," I replied, hitching my leg onto his hip. Jamie's breathing started to come a little faster. I grinned at him and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Oh," he muttered while I placed kisses along his temple and jaw. His hands went into my now curly hair and he pulled my lips onto his. I giggled and happily kissed him back.

It wasn't very long until my hands were tangled into his hair and I was lying on my back with him on top of me. My heart was pounding like a drum in my chest and my lower stomach was burning.

Jamie's hands slipped under my shirt and his fingers ran over my stomach and ribs. I groaned but he quickly covered my mouth with his own.

"The others are still sleeping," he mumbled into my skin then Jamie ducked his head and started nibbling on my neck. I gasped and my legs went up wrapped around him.

I just couldn't stop myself after that. I wish I hadn't said anything in the first place but I just couldn't stop my mouth from working.

"Oh, Jamie, I love you," I groaned. Jamie stopped immediately and pulled back from me so he was just hovering over me. He was just staring at me! Jamie wasn't saying it back or anything! My face turned tomato red and I started squirming, trying to hide my face or get out from under him.

"Hey, you two, we need to be leaving soon," Ian poked his sleepy head around the corner. He blushed when he saw us in a not so innocent position and went back on his side of the motel quickly.

I pretty much pushed Jamie off of me and hurtled myself into the bathroom. I locked the door and leaned back on it, taking a deep breath.

I used the toilet, washed my hands, washed my face just because then left the bathroom, making sure Jamie wasn't right outside the door. I didn't even spare Ian or Wanda a glance as I ran out into the van. I sat in the back by myself with my arms wrapped around my legs as I waited for the others to come out.

"What are you doing?" I jumped and looked up. Jeb was peering at me from the passenger seat. I had forgotten he was in here.

"I just wanted to be alone for a little bit," I exclaimed, looking away from him. Jeb grunted but didn't look away from me.

"That's weird; you and Jamie are practically inseparable. Did you guys have a fight?" Jeb said. Jeez, for an old dude he saw a lot.

"Not really," I whispered before turning completely away from him. He didn't say anything after that but he did whistle cheerfully.

I was on the verge of crying when Ian and Jamie came sneaking out of the motel room while Wanda went to the front office to return the room key. I didn't look at them as they climbed into the back.

I felt so humiliated and hurt. He hadn't even said anything back; he just looked at me. I wanted to just curl up in a ball and hide myself underground, maybe back at the caves. Yeah, I wish I was back in the caves. I could at least hide from him there.

Wanda came bouncing back and jumped into the driver's seat and we left the motel parking lot. I didn't look at Jamie or Ian that was sitting in the back with me but stared at the back of Jeb's head.

"Angelica," I jumped when a hand gently grabbed my forearm. I'd know that touch anywhere by now. I ignored Jamie and continued at stare at Jeb's graying hair. His large hand grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. I avoided his eyes and stared past him at Ian who was trying to give us some privacy by not listening.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. You just surprised me is all. Please look at me," Jamie mumbled. His breath hit me in the face and I had to force my eyes to stay away from him. "Would you forgive me if I said that I felt the same way too," he asked hopelessly.

I gasped and finally looked at him. Jamie was smiling from my reaction to his words. I grabbed the sides of his face and pulled him down to me. I had completely forgotten that we were in a van with three other people and I didn't care right now. Jamie loved me!

The only thing that broke me out of my happy daze was Jeb's fake cough and Wanda's frantic questions. I pulled back from his lips.

"Jamie, what did you do to hurt her feelings?" Wanda ranted with Ian and Jeb laughed. I ignored their laughing and clung to Jamie as he tried to explain without giving away some private details.

I smiled stupidly into his shirt while he got scolded my Wanda. He loved me!


	7. Chapter 7

_Paradise_

It had been many days, perhaps a few weeks. I wasn't sure of the time anymore but I did know where we were. We had traveled all the way to Northern Colorado and we had started going back home three days ago, I think.

"Angelica, help me load this medicine into the van," Jeb grunted. I nodded and quickly hopped out of the back of the van. It was dark out but the lights from the hospital shone brightly not but a few yards from us.

Jeb and I quietly started to stack the boxes into the back, trying not to smash any of the food that we had in there. Jamie, Ian, and Wanda were out getting more medicine for us. I had just broken a sweat when they returned with their arms full. The five of us loaded the boxes quickly and then we left the hospital.

Jeb, Jamie, and I were crammed into the back, barely any room for us to move around. Jamie pulled me into his lap to make more room for Jeb. I sighed, tucking my head under his chin and rested until Wanda left again to buy clothes for our community. I think she enjoyed shopping for everyone because it was like giving them a gift.

"Ugh, I'm so sick of being crammed into a van. I'm ready for work in the fields again," I muttered into Jamie's neck.

"That's the spirit kid!" Jeb said from across before us. I wanted to turn around to smile at him but I couldn't twist that way that the moment with this limited room and Jamie holding onto me.

I could hear Jamie's breathing deepening above me. He must have fallen asleep while we waited for Wanda to come back. I didn't blame him for wanting to sleep while he had the chance. He's slept in the van for the past week while Jeb and I fought over who got the bed in the motel room. I've slept in the floor of the motel for the past week.

"Here she comes. Someone look alive," Ian said from the front. Jeb grunted as he tried to get around the boxes to open the door so Wanda could toss the clothes in then we could go. I couldn't really see anything but I could hear.

"Alright, where do you want to go next?" Ian asked. I didn't answer but Wanda did.

"I've got to get something Jamie wants me to get then we can get some lunch," Wanda said, starting up the van and pulling out of the parking lot. I was curious as to what Jamie wanted but I really couldn't ask him right now since he was asleep. I let myself doze off as we drove back to Arizona.

Wanda parked two hours later at some kind of fancy looking store from what I could see out the back window. I didn't bother asking where we were but cuddled closer to Jamie, who was my blanket of warmth at the moment.

I had fallen back asleep again but was woken up from the smell of food. I fluttered my eyes open and stifled a yawn. I poked the side of Jamie's face, trying to wake him so he could eat.

"What? What is that I smell?" Jamie mumbled, unwinding his arms from me. I squirmed myself away from him so he could have room to stretch and eat his food. I took my slices of pizza that Jeb handed to me while I groggily listened to Ian and Wanda talk about how many days it will take for us to get home.

"So, who is going to sleep in the van tonight?" Ian asked after everyone had finished eating. None of us jumped to the chance but tried to make ourselves look bigger than the space we might have to sleep in.

"Angelica, you can take a turn in here for one night at least. We should be home in four days or less so it wouldn't be that long," Wanda chirped from her seat. I grumbled and agreed to it.

Wanda found us a motel to stay in once it was late at night and we couldn't stand to be in the van anymore. Jeb, Ian, and Wanda practically bolted out of the van while Jamie stayed behind with me for a little bit.

I wrapped my arms around him and kissed his neck. "I love you," I muttered.

"I love you too. I've got to go now; you've got to get your sleep before we get up early tomorrow," Jamie exclaimed, pulling back from me slowly. I grumbled but reached up and pecked him on the lips once or twice before letting him go.

I sighed and stretched out the best I could in the limited space that was available. I was starting to think that Wanda just a little too good that this shopping thing. I went to sleep with a bottle of soap in my face and a box poking me in the side.

Over of the next few days I was pumping with excitement. We were so close to being home and I would able to see my other friends for the first time in two in a half weeks. I would be able to kiss Jamie with Jeb and Ian teasing us. I would be able to have privacy (with Jamie).

"We've got two more hours until we'll have to trek through the desert. Everyone should be waiting for us to arrive so we can get this stuff unloaded," Ian told us on our last day. I sighed in relief and slumped against the box of sweets that Wanda had gotten us the day before.

"I can't wait to get back in the caves. I miss the dust," I exclaimed, grinning over at Jeb since it was his "house". "What about you, Jamie?" I asked, nudging. He had been staring out the back window.

"I miss Melanie and Jared a lot. Mel is probably huge by now," Jamie said, grinning at me. I snorted.

"She won't be huge. We've only been gone a two weeks," I said, patting his arm. I leaned up to Wanda to double check though. She reassured me that Mel would not be huge.

We all joked around until Ian took over the wheel when we had to drive through the desert. I held on to Jamie's hand as we bumped along, hoping we could get there faster. Finally, Ian parked the van right outside the entrance of the caves. There was already a small group gathered there.

I hurried and jumped out of the van, pulling Jamie out with me. I spotted Jared and Melanie immediately and dragged him over to meet his sister. Melanie's stomach was slightly bigger but nothing drastic. I smiled at her and gave her a small hug before letting her go so she could hug Jamie.

I smiled hesitatingly at Jared before putting out my hand for him to shake. Jared barely shook it before going over to welcome back Wanda and Ian. I sighed, turning around to look for Lily. She was at the edge of the group standing on her tippy-toes looking around.

I skipped up to her and threw my arms around neck. I hugged her until she was begging for air.

"I missed you. I've had to wake up all by myself!" Lily exclaimed, holding me at arms length. I smiled at her and hugged her again, sobbing even though no tears were coming out.

"Angelica, were we really that bad to be stuck with?" I turned around and smiled at Jamie. He had his arms crossed and he had a cute pout on his face. I giggled and grabbed his hand, pulling him over to us.

"Alright, people, enough talk. We've got to get these boxes inside then someone needs to drive the van back," Jeb yelled over everyone's excited chatter. People immediately jumped into action and started pulling the boxes and bags out of the van and returning back into caves.

Jamie loaded his arms full of bags while I followed behind him, picking up what he dropped. I listened to the excited chatter that echoed off the walls of the caves until we had stored all of the supplies.

"Come on, I'm ready for a good night's rest," Jamie exclaimed, grabbing my hand and pulling me along. I didn't bother with telling him that we should probably stay to help; I was too tired.

Jamie didn't stop when he came to my door but went straight on to his. This was pretty normal I suppose but the look on Jamie's face wasn't. He didn't look tired at all.

I practically fell onto his mattress and buried my face into his sheets. I sighed contently and glanced up at Jamie, wondering why he wasn't relaxing with me.

"Are you okay?" I mumbled, turning over so I was on my back. He looked anxious about something and kept tapping his foot against the floor.

"Yep, never better," he answered in a grunt. I frowned. I stared up at the ceiling instead so he wouldn't feel uncomfortable under my gaze. I wouldn't pressure him about right now.

After a few minutes, Jamie finally eased up a little and lay down beside me. I grinned up at the ceiling and turned over to him. I easily wound my arms around his waist and snuggled myself into his chest.

I could just feel his anxiousness. It was like a balloon; if he didn't let it out soon he would pop. Jamie begin anxious was a big deal too. He was a very easy going guy.

"Angelica, you know I love you, right?" my breathing hitched when I heard him say those words. Was he going to break up with me? Was I being too clingy?

I simply nodded as my reply.

"So, er, I though maybe you might want to move your mattress… in here… with me," Jamie finally said. I let go of him and leaned on my elbow so I could look at his face easier. Besides his nervous look about my answer, I could tell he was being serious.

"Sleep in here? With you?" I asked. Was my mind playing tricks on me? This was almost too good to be true!

"Only if you want I mean! I'm not suggesting anything either! I just thought that-"I reached up and silenced him with my hand.

"I'd love to," I breathed, smiling at him. I felt him smile under my hand. Jamie sat up, pulling my hand away from his, and pulled me up from his mattress.

Lily was already lying down on her mattress with her pillow covering her face when Jamie busted into my room. Lily squealed and threw her pillow at us while Jamie picked up my mattress and hauled it out before I could even apologize to Lily.

I gave Lily a weak smile before rushing after Jamie to see if he was going to do anything else that was random. He stayed standing in the middle of his room with the mattress in his arms.

"Where do you want it?" Jamie asked.

"Next to yours, of course. Did you think I was going to sleep on the other side of the room?" I giggled. He grinned before dropping it next to his. I crouched down and evened them up and made sure the sheets were on right.

"Do you want to go to sleep for real this time?" Jamie chuckled before doing a belly flop onto his bed. I laughed and plopped down on my own bed.

We both got under and sheets facing each other and held hands. I'm not sure who went to sleep first but I did remember getting closer to Jamie somehow.

When I woke up the first thing I noticed was that I wasn't on my bed anymore. The second thing, I noticed was Jamie lying under me fast asleep. Third, I straddling him and my hands were under his shirt on his stomach. Fourth, our sheets weren't on us anymore. They had been thrown across the room into a heap.

I felt like giggling, blushing, and squealing at the same time. I wanted to giggle because Jamie was lying innocently under me and he wasn't even aware that I was on top of him with my hands on his stomach. I wanted to blush because I'm sure this was called sexual assault or something like that since Jamie hadn't consented to this. I felt like squealing because, well duh, I was touching Jamie's stomach and lying on top of him and I wanted to run off into Lily's room and tell her all about like a normal teenager girl would do.

I took a deep breath and slid my hands off of Jamie then I slowly brought all my weight off of him. I blew some of my hair out of my face before my next move.

"What are you doing?" I squeaked and flipped myself off of him and onto my mattress.

Jamie sat up and rubbed his eyes before turning to me with a huge grin on his face. I blushed and covered my face. Oh, he probably thinks I did all that while I was conscious!

"Good morning, Angelica. Is that the kind of wake up call I'm going to be getting from now on?" he teased, pushing his wild hair out of his eyes. I grumbled something but I knew he didn't understand what I had said.

"That was how I woke up, I swear," I finally said. Jamie laughed and rolled over until he was right beside me. He leaned over me with a goofy grin on his face.

"That's okay. That was actually, dare I say it, sexy. I wouldn't mind waking up to that every morning," he exclaimed. I giggled nervously. I highly doubted that was sexy but I wouldn't fight with him about it right now.

"Are you ready to go to breakfast?" I asked, sitting up. He nodded and pulled me to my feet. After he put his hair back into a ponytail, we left our room. I stopped in on Lily to make sure she got up then Jamie and I headed to the kitchen.

Everyone was passing around plates of eggs and bacon when we arrived. I mouth watered from just the smell. I quickly grabbed a plate for myself and got a seat next to Jamie. We didn't talk until our plates were empty.

"So, I heard some interesting gossip just now," I turned around and saw Kyle standing over us. I normal would have smiled at him and Sunny but he didn't give me the chance. "I heard that you two are roommates now," Kyle said.

I blushed and turned back around to my empty plate. Jamie did the same, trying to ignore Kyle's teasing.

I glanced up and saw Mel, Jared, and Lily walk in. I smiled weakly at them.

"You want to know something that I just heard?" Melanie exclaimed when she got over to us. I smile dropped. She wiggled her eyebrows at her brother and me.

"You guys are so immature," Jamie grumbled.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: I'll be ending this story very soon; this may even be the last chapter, it may not. I'm sorry that this story is so short but I can't really think else that I want to do with this story at the moment.**

_Paradise_

I've been back in the caves for one week now. I fell back into my normal routine quickly. I had missed everyone here and it was nice getting to back with my friends again. It made the work easier when you had a bunch of friends to talk with.

Jamie rarely left my side now. In the morning, I made sure he got up with enough time so we could relax together before I went and woke up Lily down the hall. The three of us went to the kitchen together and ate. Jeb would tell us where he wanted us to work today then we headed off. I guess nothing had really changed but it sure felt like it.

Every night I started on my mattress but held his hand before I fell asleep. When I woke up in the morning I was all over him. Some times my hands would be wound in his hair while I was cuddled into his chest and other times I had pulled his shirt up his torso in my sleep. I was starting to wonder what kind of dreams I had to trigger these actions.

Of course, Jamie didn't mind one bit about my new sleeping habits. He'd tease me before we went to sleep about how he might wake up the next morning. When he finally woke up in the mornings he'd ask me what I had dreamed about and if was a good one. I'd always blush and say I couldn't remember.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Alright, grab a basket and start picking the corn!" Jeb yelled to the crowd of people in the southern field. Some people cheered and hurried to pick up the woven baskets or a bucket and started into the corn field.

"It is a good thing we get the easy stuff today; my back is killing me from working the ground yesterday," Jamie sighed, grinning down at me. I smiled back up at him, grabbed his hand and pulled him over to where the piles of buckets were.

After each of us had our own bucket we plunged bravely into the field to endure the next few hours of work. Jamie and I worked together in one row. I could hear Ian trying to help Wanda a few rows over. They were so cute together.

We probably had an hour or two before lunchtime when Melanie waddled over to us with a small pail of water for us. There would be no doubt in anyone's mind, soul or human, that Mel was pregnant now.

"You guys working hard?" Mel teased, handing us a cup to drink out of. I smiled tiredly at her. My arms were tired from reaching up the stacks and my fingers were aching from ripping the husks off. I gladly drank the water and let my shoulders relax while Jamie and Mel talked.

"I've got to get back to work; this is the only thing Jared lets me do anymore so I'm going to do it right," Melanie exclaimed before she waddled off to the next row. I frowned but turned my back to Jamie so he wouldn't see. I still hadn't gotten Jared to warm up to me yet. I just didn't know what his problem was.

"I can't wait to be an uncle," Jamie sighed with a giant grin on his face before getting back to work. I smiled. A baby in the caves seemed weird to me. I've haven't saw a baby since my little cousin was born years ago and I was so little then that I wasn't even allowed to hold her.

"Lunchtime!" someone screamed. It sounded like a stampede out of the corn field and into the hallway. Jamie and I followed slowly, just enjoying holding each other's hand before we were in front of everyone else.

"Angelica, I've got a surprise for you after dinner. Wanda and Lily agreed to help me out so I could get everything ready. I think you'll like it," Jamie exclaimed before we got to the main field. I looked up at Jamie curiously. A surprise?

"What kind of surprise?" I asked. I ignored my excited butterflies in my stomach so I could hear what he said. He just smiled mysteriously and waggled his finger at me. I groaned and nudged him away from me. Jamie laughed and pulled me back to him, pecking my lips quickly before we went into the kitchen with everyone else.

I went to go get my food with Jamie hovering behind me with his hand on the small of my back. I kept blushing every time I felt his fingers rub small circles on my back. I could see people out of the corner of my eye, giggling at my red face.

My heart was about to hammer out of my chest by the time I actually sat down at a table. Jamie just smile at me and sat next to me, holding my hand under the table like we always do.

I listened to Kyle's jokes and Wanda and Melanie talk about the baby but I was really trying to figure out what Jamie had planned for later. Jamie seemed more quiet than normal also but he did crack a few jokes before Jeb told us to get back to work.

We ambled along, trying to prolong the moment before we started to work again. Even though collecting corn was probably one of the easiest jobs here in the caves, I couldn't help but feel sorry for my fingers.

I was eager for the afternoon to be over with. I wanted to see what Jamie had up his sleeve. Finally, Maggie yelled for us to get up to the kitchen for our steak. Jamie and I raced past just about everyone. I was giggling so hard that I ended up getting passed up by Brant and Lily though.

When I finally made it to the kitchen, Ian was practically carrying me in while I was laughing my head off. I wasn't a hundred percent sure why I was laughing but I was having a fun time doing it.

"Hey now, hands off the girlfriend, O'Shea," Jamie said, coming towards us with two plates of food. I giggled a little more as Ian sat me down. I skipped over to Jamie and kissed his cheek then led him over to a table for us to eat at.

I calmed down considerable after I took the first bite of steak. The only thing on my mind was the wonderful meat I was eating and Jamie sitting right next to me.

"Lily, Wanda, can you take Angelica down to the bathing room. I've got to get things ready," Jamie said after we had finished eating. My curiosity burned inside me. I wanted to know what he had planned now.

Lily grabbed my arm and tried to drag me up. I hurried and leaned over to Jamie to give him a quick kiss before letting myself be dragged out of the kitchen and to the washroom.

Once we were out of hearing range I started on the girls. "Okay, what is he planning?" I asked Wanda. She would most likely be the one to know what is going on since she is so close to Jamie.

Wanda just giggled excitedly but just shook her head. I turned to Lily instead.

"I don't know anything. He said couldn't tell me anything because I'd tell you on accident, which I would," Lily said before I could even ask her. I sighed.

We spent fifteen or twenty minutes in the bath before drying off with the towels Wanda got for us on a raid. I put on some new clothes that she had also bought for me and sighed happily. The clothes were so soft and fresh feeling.

"Ready for your surprise?" Wanda asked, bouncing up and down in front of me. I nodded and fast walked down the hallways until I had finally made it to Jamie and mine's room. I glanced behind me and saw Lily and Wanda give me the thumbs up before going into their own rooms.

I went inside and had to gasp. A flashlight had been placed in the corner, giving the room a soft glow that candle light might give it. In the other corner sat a tiny boom box that was playing soft music that made me relax instantly. Jamie stood nervously to the side in a pair of clean jeans and a clean white t-shirt.

He timidly smiled at me and stepped towards me. "Could I have this dance?" Jamie asked politely, holding his hand out for me. I smiled nervously and took his hand. I have never danced with anyone before, especially with a boy.

Jamie placed one hand on my waist and the other held my hand. He put my free hand on his shoulder then he led me in slow circles around our room. I was nervous that I'd step on his feet but Jamie never led me wrong.

"What's the special occasion?" I whispered softly. I didn't want to ruin the soothing feeling that had spread through me. Jamie beamed down at me and dipped me backwards, making me giggle.

"I'll tell you later," he murmured when he brought me back up. I sighed and leaned my head on his chest and let him guide me around the room. Jamie took his hand off my waist and ran his fingers through my damp hair.

We stopped dancing all together when the song chanced to something quicker. I kept my head on his chest while he played with my hair as I listened to his breathing and the music.

"Do you want to sit down now?" Jamie asked suddenly. I looked up at him before nodding. He seemed kind of nervous. I guess there was more to the surprise.

I sat down on my mattress that was pushed up against his and waited patiently for him to gather his nerve. Jamie paced twice in front of me before kneeling down in front of me. I don't know why this looking so familiar but it made my heart pound rapidly in my chest.

"Angelica, I love you so much and I can not think of a life without you in it now. I know this probably sounds so cheesy but I've just got to say it. You complete me," I felt tears prick my eyes and I wanted to hug and smother him with kisses but then he continued talking before I had a chance. "I know that since we live in a cave and probably will for the rest of our lives until the souls leave us alone but I wanted to give you something," Jamie dug in his pocket for a moment before pulling out a small black box.

Jamie opened it and I held my breath. My air came whooshing out almost immediately. Inside was a little silver ring with two hearts entwined as the design. With shaky fingers I pulled it out of the box so I could look at it better. On the band it had two words engraved. _I Promise._

"I promise that if we ever find a human preacher that I'll marry you. I had Wanda special order it for me on our last raid and I was just waiting for the right moment to give it to you. Do you like it?" Jamie rambled nervously.

"Oh, wow. Are you for real?" I choked out. Tears had started to freely fall down my face now but there was no way that I would be able to stop them with how crazy my emotions were at the moment.

Jamie nodded, watching me anxiously now. I realized that I should probably say something like "yes, I'd love to marry you," or something like that but my voice had left me completely. So I did the next best thing that I could do.

I crashed my lips against his and pulled him towards me, bringing him off his knee. I placed kisses all over his face, muttering something while I did. It took me a second to notice that I was gasping out yes to him. I'm guessing he knew my answer now.

(A/N: They did NOT have sex! Just thought I'd point that out before we moved along)

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I groggily opened my eyes. I blinked a few times before getting my bearings. I was lying on Jamie (no surprise) and I had my hands flat out on his bare chest. I glanced around and saw his shirt lying on the other side of the room.

I pushed my hair out of my eyes so I could get a good look at Jamie. His hair was wild looking and I noticed that his hair band was on my wrist. I grinned as I kept looking. Jamie had red marks on his collarbone, neck, and shoulder. It took me a moment to realize what they were. I had given Jamie hickeys! I stuffed my fist into my mouth to stop from giggling.

I glanced down at my left hand and couldn't help but sigh. Jamie's promise ring shone proudly on my finger. I felt like waking up every female in the caves just so we could look at my new ring.

"Jamie," I murmured in his ear. His face twitched and his arms flexed at my sides.

"Is it morning already?" he groaned, rolling over onto his side taking me with him. I chuckled and kissed his nose. Jamie cracked open one eye then the other one before smiling brightly at me. "Good morning, Angelica. Have a good night's rest?" Jamie asked.

"Yeah, I had this wonderful dream where some dark haired guy promising to marry me. It was very nice," I exclaimed, smirking at him. He grinned back.

"Dark haired fellow, keeps his hair in a ponytail, tall, dashingly handsome? I believe I know this man; we're somewhat good friends actually," Jamie played along. I laughed then pecked his lips.

Suddenly it felt like a million people were running down the hallway, towards our room. I sat up and wrapped the covers around me just in time. Kyle, Sunny, Ian, Wanda, Lily, Jeb, and Trudy all came bursting into our room talking at once.

I heard a lot of "congratulations!" and "I'm so happy for yous!" as they all crammed inside. I was blushing and making sure they couldn't see my pajamas while Jamie just sat there grinning at our friends.

"Whoa, Jamie, did you have a fun night last night?" Kyle laughed suddenly, pointing at him. I glanced over at him and blushed even harder. Kyle was pointing at all the hickeys I had given Jamie. I pulled the covers over my head and made a cocoon around me of embarrassment.

I couldn't see Jamie's reaction but I could still hear it. "Yeah, it was very nice, very romantic. I even made her cry a little," he laughed, patting my side. I shifted away from him (more like wiggled) to my mattress.

"Okay, I think it's time for everyone to find some work to do. We'll see you two for breakfast," Jeb said. I heard shuffling around as our friends left the room. I finally poked my head out of the covers. I was starting to get hot under here.

"Well, that was embarrassing," I muttered. Jamie chuckled and helped me to unwrap myself. We dressed for our day and took our sweet time going to the kitchen.

"I'm surprised that Mel hadn't bombarded us this morning like everyone else," I stated. Jamie purposely avoided looking down at me. "Jamie, she doesn't, does she?" I accused. He squirmed under my gaze.

"Well, no, but I know she'll be okay with it. It was mostly Jared I was trying to avoid. I'm not sure what his deal is," Jamie broke down finally, looking at me with guilty eyes.

"Oh, so Jared was the problem. I'll take care of that later," I hissed moodily. Jamie didn't say anything else about it but I knew he was wondering what I was going to do. I was even sure what I was going to do but I was sick of Jared's attitude towards me.

During breakfast a few people came up to congratulate us or to look at my ring. I didn't really say anything but let Jamie take care of all the talking. I kept an eye on Jared the whole time. Neither Melanie nor Jared knew what was going on yet.

It seemed Jeb was even trying to help me with cracking the Jared case because he put Jared, Jamie, Melanie, and me on dish washing and clothes washing until lunch. Jamie grabbed the dish bucket and Jared took the clothes basket. Melanie and I trailed behind them as we headed to the washroom.

"What is that?!" Melanie suddenly squealed. Jared whipped around, dropping the clothes. It looked like he was expecting her to go into labor soon or something. Mel didn't even notice and was gaping at my left hand.

I blushed and raised my hand so she could get a better look at my new ring. She took my hand and turned my hand around so she could see every angle.

"Oh, wow, it's such a pretty promise ring," Melanie gushed, smiling up at me. I blushed even more and smiled over at Jamie, who had been watching for Mel's reaction.

"Promise ring?" Jared snapped, coming forward to look closer for a look. I wanted to shrink away from his. He didn't look too happy.

"I gave it to her last night," Jamie cut in somewhat defensively.

"You guys are too young to be making such a commitment like this," Jared stated, turning on Jamie now. I glared and took my hand back from Melanie. I stepped in front of Jamie and crossed my arms.

"Melanie was seventeen years old when you guys got together and she knew that she was in love with you after only a few weeks. Jamie and I have known each other for months!" I exclaimed heatedly. Jared glared down at me this time.

"Melanie and I are a little different than you two," he practically growled.

"Hey, I don't think you've got a right to say anything about Angelica and mine's relationship," Jamie shot at him, wrapping an arm around me, pulling me back into him.

"Jared, sweetheart, just drop it," Melanie finally intervened. He went back over to her and they whispered heatedly for a moment before Melanie turned back to us. "Can you guys take care of the dishes and crap so we can talk?" she asked one hand on Jared's shoulder and the other on her stomach.

I nodded and took the dishes and let Jamie take the clothes. I stalked away from them and didn't slow down until I could hear the rush of the rivers. Jamie had stayed quiet during my little fit.

"Are you okay?" Jamie asked, dropping his basket.

"Yeah. Ugh! He's just got me all fired up now!" I exclaimed. I let Jamie hug me until my anger disappeared. I sighed and pulled back from him. "Come on, lets get this done before Jeb shows up," I grumbled.

It didn't take long for Jamie to get me laughing and joking around again. We had a splashing fight and raced to see who could wash a plate faster and just goofed off. After Jamie was soaked and his hair was plastered to his face while I was skipping out of his splashing rang.

"I'm glad to see you two are having fun," I almost slipped and landed on my butt but caught myself before I could fit the ground. Maggie and Jeb were standing there, grinning at us.

"Hey, Uncle Jeb, Aunt Maggie, did you guys come down for a bath too?" Jamie asked, pushing his hair out of his face.

"Nope, not this time. I came down to make sure neither of you drowned or something," Jeb chuckled.

"You guys can go on up to lunch now, I'll finish this up," Maggie said.

I smiled at her and helped Jamie up from the floor. We hurried up to the kitchen. Everyone was fighting for a dessert cake for later. I sent Jamie into the madness because I wouldn't stand a chance against Kyle or Brant in a tussle.

I sat down at a table. I looked around to see if Melanie or Jared was in here just in case we had to have another roll. Luckily, Melanie must still be talking to him because the two of them weren't here.

Jamie and I ate quickly since everything was crazy in the kitchen. Jamie actually had to dodge a flying elbow. He had to shield me on the way out.

"Now what are we suppose to do?" I asked, wrapping my arm around Jamie's waist.

"I'm going to check on Mel and Jared. You can take a nap or splash Lily to death or talk Doc's ear off, whatever you want to do," Jamie exclaimed. I nodded and kissed his jaw before heading in the direction of Doc's hospital.

I walked slowly over to the hospital, hoping I'd run into Lily so I could have someone to talk to. I almost turned around when I saw Jared and Melanie talking with Doc.

"Angelica, could you go find Sharon for me?" Doc asked when he saw me lurking there. I nodded and quickly ducked back into the hallway. I sprinted away and went back into the kitchen. Sharon was sitting on the counter with Freedom beside her.

"Sharon, Doc wants you for something," I mumbled as I walked past her before I grabbed a roll that someone hadn't eaten. I found Lily and stayed with her until Jamie came back when we were headed to water some carrot seeds.

"So, how did it go?" I asked when he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. Jamie grinned down at me.

"I talked to Jared and Melanie and he said he was cool with it after he thought about it for a while," he said, leading me back to our room.

"Oh, that's good," I muttered. Instead of going into our room, Jamie led us into Jared and Mel's. Melanie was lying down, snuggled into her pillow with Jared sitting by her head.

"Go on, Jared," Melanie mumbled sleepily. Jared looked past Jamie and let his eyes rest on me.

"I'm sorry, Angelica. I didn't mean to upset you or anything. I was just shocked, more or less," Jared said, smiling at me with a hopeful look on his face.

"Well, I forgive you, more or less," I stated, grinning at him to let him know that I wouldn't yell at him or anything, not unless he continues to be a prick at least.


	9. Chapter 9

_Paradise_

"Where is Doc?! We need some No Pain!" Jared yelled franticly, poking his head out of Melanie and his room. I went running past him with Jamie right behind me. I was screaming for help while Jamie was yelling Maggie.

"What is doing on? Don't you know people need their beauty sleep?" Jeb snapped, banging out of his room. I didn't even slow down.

"Melanie's having the baby!" Jamie panted. I didn't even have any breath left to scream for help but Jeb did that for me. My legs were already burning by the time we got to the main field. I guess I'm really out of shape.

"I'll get the No Pain, you get Doc," Jamie gasped from behind me. I gave him a thumbs-up before picking up my pace. We finally made it to the hospital. Doc was already on his feet since he heard us stomping down the hallway.

"Melanie-baby-now," I gasped before falling onto my knees. My legs were shaking really bad and my lungs were burning.

Jamie grabbed a container of No Pain and handed it to Doc. Doc ran back the way we came while Jamie tried to help me stand. I clung to him as he helped me back down the hallway.

"How long will it take until she has the baby?" I whispered.

"Er, I'm not really sure. I guess it's different for every woman," Jamie mumbled. I could hear excitement in his voice. I was more worried than excited. So many things could go wrong.

We waited outside of Melanie and Jared's room. Wanda, Ian, Sunny, a sleepy Kyle, and Jeb stood there with us as we listened to Doc and Maggie murmur encouragement to Mel. Jamie kept bouncing on his feet and had a tight grip on my hand.

I stood stony faced as I waited. I jumped every time I heard a gasp from inside the room or Jared's pacing. I was on the edge; I've never dealt with something like this before. I was scared for Melanie.

"How long does human birthing take?" Wanda finally asked impatiently. No one had time to stop here as she stalked follow and into the room. I held my breath until I heard Wanda's words of encouragement for Melanie.

"Angelica, are you okay?" Sunny suddenly asked, looking at me from under Kyle's arm. I let out a shaky breath and nodded weakly before falling limply against Jamie.

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My eyes fluttered before I got used to the light. I groaned and tried to swat away the light from my face.

"Put the light away, Doc," someone grunted. My eyes finally had the chance to focus on what was going on around me. Doc, Jeb, and Jamie loomed over my body. I was stretched out in the hallway outside of Mel's room still.

"What happened? Is the baby here yet?" I squeaked out, shooting up and scrambling to get back on my feet. Jamie grabbed me and made sure I didn't faint again.

"Nothing has happened with the baby situation yet. That little kid sure is making a lot of trouble already," Jeb grumbled.

I hung on to Jamie's waist for a while until my legs weren't shaking so much. He kept his arm around my shoulders just incase I freaked out again and decided to hit the floor.

Jamie and I sat outside of the "birthing room" for hours. People would stop in every once in a while to check on how things were going. Trudy would stop by and bring us our food since there was no way that we were leaving our spot.

"I hope it's a girl," Jamie mumbled, leaning his head back against the wall. I sighed and leaned my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. I was so tired.

"I hope it's a boy," I stated. Jamie glanced down at me.

"A girl would be better," he replied, pretending to glared at me. I shook my head and frowned up at him.

"No way. A boy would love to live in the caves; a girl normally wouldn't like this kind of life style," I said, jutting my chin out stubbornly. I was going to win this fake fight.

"You don't seem to mind it," Jamie stated. I could tell he wanted to win also.

"Well, I'm not like every other girl," I grumbled. Jamie chuckled and wrapped his arm around me and kissed the top of my head.

"What are you going to do if we end up having a little girl?" Jamie asked. My head shot up and I jerked away from him on reflex.

"Are we having children? We haven't even had, you know," I was blushing like crazy and I wanted to go hide somewhere where Jamie wouldn't find me.

Jamie's own face was red and he looked highly uncomfortable. He shifted nervously and started tugged on his ponytail.

"I thought maybe one day that we would, you know, and could have our own baby," he mumbled embarrassedly. This would have been funny if it was anyone other than us.

"I've never thought about having my own child before," I exclaimed. I covered my eyes with my hand and leaned back against the wall, dying of embarrassment slowly.

"But what about, you know?" Jamie pressed. I glanced up at his. He was grinning now but his cheeks were still a little red.

"I've thought of that recently," I whispered, hiding back under my hand again. Jamie full out laughed and I felt him kiss my forehead.

"We can talk about this again when my sister isn't having a baby," Jamie snickered. He pulled me back over to him and let me cuddle myself into his chest. His chest vibrated every time he'd suddenly start laughing or chuckling. I believe this was the first time I wanted to slap him.

"I see something coming!" Jared yelled inside his room. Jamie and I jumped to our feet and started to pace. I could hear Doc trying to calm Jared down while also telling Mel to push.

"Oh my God, I've got to go get everyone. Stay here, I'll be back," Jamie said and hurried off to go get everyone. I was gasping for breath and trying to listen to what was going on inside the room as soon as he left.

The door was suddenly thrown open and Maggie poked her head out. "You get in here and help while I get more towels!" she barked before pulling me in and she went out.

I almost fainted again. Doc was trying to instruct Melanie to breathe while holding her legs open. Jared was sitting by her head, wiping her face with a cooling cloth. I leaned against the wall and breathed deeply through my mouth.

"Angelica, make sure Mel breaths," Doc commanded when he saw me there. I nodded and just about fell onto my knees beside her head. Melanie's hand instantly shot out and grabbed my hand. I gasped in pain but didn't say anything.

"Okay, so, um, deep controlled breathing, Melanie," I said shakily. I watched as she tried to follow my instructions. I glanced up at Jared; he was also gasping for breath. "Jared you too," I commanded.

Jared matched his breathing to Mel's and I watched as he calmed down a little. Mel's hand suddenly tightened around mine and I cried out with Melanie's screams.

"He's out!" Doc exclaimed happily. All three of us sighed in relief and I pulled my hand out of hers. I think my hand was broken, no joke. I cradled in gently against my chest as I watched Doc clean up and all that nasty stuff.

"Angelica, why don't you spread the good news," Mel gasped out. I nodded and carefully got up and left the room.

"What were you doing in there?" I turned and saw Lily walking towards me.

"They need more help so I kind of got dragged in. The baby is fine," I explained weakly. My hand was starting to throb. Lily smiled and started to bug me for details of what he looked like.

"I'm not sure, I didn't really look," I said thoughtfully. She rolled her eyes and sighed disappointedly.

"Hey, what happened to your hand?" she asked suddenly, staring down at my now purple hand. I laughed and started to explain.

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"It's my turn to hold him," Jamie whined to Jeb. He ignored his nephew and kept holding little Chase. Jamie poked his uncle in the back of the head.

"Jeb, stop hogging the baby," Melanie scolded lightly from her seat. We were all gathered in the kitchen, ogling over the newest member of the community. Jeb sighed but passed Chase over to Jamie.

I looked down at the baby over Jamie's shoulder and couldn't help but aw over him. "He's so cute," I whispered. Jamie chuckled and agreed with me. Jamie didn't get to hold him very long because Sunny wanted her turn and Kyle started to whine also.

I sat down in Jamie's lap once he passed on the baby and wrapped my arms around his neck. I sighed and closed me eyes. Jamie rested his head on top of mine. We were both pretty tired after all this excitement.

"You guys might want to watch out or we'll have another baby on our hands!" my eyes snapped open and shot over to Kyle. He was grinning at Jamie and me. I blushed and hid my face in Jamie's neck.

"Shut up, Kyle. Everyone knows you'll be next," Jamie said back. Everyone joined in on the banter, keeping quiet enough that we didn't upset the baby. This was the most that I had relaxed in two days since Melanie went into labor.

It was later than normal when Jamie and I finally went to bed. The two of us were kind of giddy after watching the baby coo and wiggle around. I could watch Chase all day if I was giving the chance and I'm sure that everyone else would agree.

"He's just so adorable," I sighed, flopping down on my mattress. I kicked off my shoes and grinned up at Jamie.

"I'm an uncle! This is so great!" Jamie exclaimed, belly-flopping down beside me. I giggled and patted his back. "I can't wait to watch this kid grow up," he mumbled, grinning over at me.

"Me too. I never thought a kid would ever be this cute and entertaining," I said, snuggling closer to him. Jamie nodded and opened his arms up for me so I could cuddle up to him.

"So, what do you think about kids now?" he asked cautiously. I didn't reply at first but thought over my answer carefully. Kids right now didn't seem like a good idea but after I got used to Chase being around then maybe.

"Maybe in a year or two but not anytime soon. Once I get used to Chase then we can seriously talk about it," I exclaimed. Jamie nodded thoughtfully.

"So, what about, you know?" he muttered embarrassed. I blushed and made sure that Jamie couldn't see my face.

"We'll see about that," I murmured. I faked a yawn so we wouldn't have to keep talking about embarrassing. Jamie got himself comfortable then pulled me on top of him.

"It will save you time later on tonight," Jamie chuckled, stroking my hair. I blushed but went ahead and slipped my hands under his shirt like I always do in my sleep.

"Comfy?" he teased. I nodded and buried my face in the crock of his neck. "'Night, Angelica," Jamie yawned. I nodded to let him know that I heard him and pressed my lips gently against his neck before letting myself fall asleep.

**Author's Note: Okay, this is the end for now. Someone sent me a review, can't remember who (sorry), and it gave me an idea so I might be writing a part two to this story. Thanks for reading! :)**


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